sneak thief
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom sneak + thief. Compare Danish snigtyv (literally “sneak thief”).
Noun
editsneak thief (plural sneak thieves)
- A thief who steals without being noticed and without using violence.
- 1922, John Dos Passos, “Antonio Machado: Poet of Castile”, in Rosinante to the Road Again, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:
- […] travelling gangs of Moorish artisans, heavy armed Templars on their way to the Sepulchre, wandering minstrels, sneakthieves, bawds, rowdy strings of knights and foot-soldiers setting out with wine-skins at their saddlebows to cross the passes towards the debatable lands of Extremadura, […]
Translations
editsneak thief
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